Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Research conducted
prior to my Spanish holiday had revealed that the Galileo 7-70 brandy was made
in the area I would be visiting – Murcia. I’d read it was supposed to contain a
blend of spirit aged between 7 and 70 years old (hence the name) and,
unsurprisingly, this was intriguing enough to convince me I should seek it out.
I’ve related the specific detailsof my search previously, and even
offered some opening remarks, so let’s skip any preliminaries and get to the
appraisal.

The bottle looks
cool enough – old and classical (yet cheap), but there is the slightest
impression of balsamic vinegar about it. While at 20% ABV, it was never going
to be particularly interesting, was it? It makes you wonder why they don’t
bottle it at a higher strength, but maybe that’s the way it comes out of the
cask. As it is it tastes like water with a hint of brandy.

I soon started
pouring quadruple measures since a
double would only be equivalent to a single standard spirit, and soon after
that started taking it with ice. It sure looks nice in the glass in that form
and it makes a decent savoury sipper that way.

Soon though, I came
to feel that it was missing a degree of sweetness, and that if I could add it,
I’d be on to a winner. I mixed up a batch of sugar syrup, and just adding a few
drops confirmed my hypothesis.

As far as you’re
concerned, is this something you should consider picking up? In all honesty I’d
say not. The 7-70 years thing doesn’t mean anything if the resulting product is
as uninteresting as this, and who buys a bottle for the privilege of adding
their own sugar syrup to it? So ultimately it was nice enough, but only because
I made it so.

In its favour is the
fact that it was cheap, and you could always use it for cooking, but I’m not
here to comment on the use of alcohol in cooking, though I do think that is
what it’s for anyway - hence "Especial Gourmet" being written on the bottle. If you like brandy, get some proper brandy – something
that is at least 38 ABVs, preferably 40.

Monday, 16 March 2015

This week the battle
of the budget supermarkets continues with a look at Aldi’s 5 year old blended
malt, Glen Orrin. It comes in a standard unremarkable bottle, with little
information concerning origin or composition and a label that looks like it
might have been designed by one of the teams from The Apprentice, but it is definitely bottled for Aldi at 40% ABV. And
it’s only £13.29, so what do you get for your money?

Well, on first
impression, there’s lots going on. It’s pleasingly sweet with a nice hint of
peat on the nose. In fact, I’m not too proud to say I was mightily impressed –
not all the notes are perfect, but it was surprisingly good for the price, and
I was even moved to Whatsapp my mate Phil about my first impressions. He even
went out and bought his own, and shared my opinion, calling it a find.

But then something
weird happened, and each time I revisited it, I seemed to enjoy it less and
less, until finally I was left wondering what had seemed so impressive about it
in the first place. And I can’t answer that. There must have been something
impressive about it, something different and intriguing… but now it’s gone.

All my experience so
far has suggested whisky should open up -
for several months - after pouring that first glass, but here was something
to challenge that supposition. This could be an anomaly among whiskies, and you
can be sure I’ll keep you updated as I draw further conclusions, but as for the
Glen Orrin 5, I’m afraid it means I can’t score it very highly: 5/10.

And that brings
Aldi’s average score over all spirits and liqueurs I’ve tried to 6.25 out of
10. You can check the first instalment of this contest here.

Lidl, this battle’s
other competitor (currently sitting on a poor -2 out of 10), do their own
vatted malt that is ripe for comparison with this. Phil was actually motivated
to pick that one up, and suggested it is better than the Glen Orrin, so I’ll have
to follow suit at some point to find out who is the real king of cheap vatted
malts… out of Aldi and Lidl. So much to do, so little time…

Anyways, that's all I got for this week. Sorry to've kept you waiting and that. I'll try to be more prompt next week.

Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.